In the LCK second split regular season, the first week's schedule is nearing its end. On the previous match day, NS team, where "Xuedi" plays, faced their fourth match. When competing against KRX, NS unexpectedly suffered a defeat, being cleanly swept 2:0. At the start of the season, NS gave an impression of rising strength, but surprisingly quickly, they were brought back to their original form. Even KRX, whose strength is near the bottom, couldn't be beaten; NS truly seems somewhat abstract.

Another match on the same day was DK versus GEN, which also turned out to be an upset. Before the match, all spectators and even commentators did not favor DK, because the previous encounter record between the two teams showed DK with twenty-one consecutive losses. Since the Spring Split of 2022, DK had never won against GEN. Everyone thought GEN would achieve a 22-win streak, but suddenly Chovy agreed, and the whole team performed poorly, being directly swept 2:0 by DK.

Xu defeating Da Chao sounds somewhat unbelievable, but DK actually accomplished it this time. Except for Da Chao having some performance, the rest of GEN's members were in increasingly poor form. San Shu's tempo was completely outplayed by Lucid; Siwoo against Kiin earned MVP; Xu wasn't crushed, and the bot lane also performed. Looking at the whole match, DK's entire team played better than GEN. However, in the first game, DK won by turning the game around.

Early on, GEN maintained an advantage, but during the dragon soul fight, the dragon was stolen by Bard, and Ruler suddenly died. This wave directly handed DK the Baron. The final wave ended the match. In the second game, the two teams were evenly matched in the early-mid phase, but DK's team fights were executed excellently. Ruler continued to die in crucial fights, again giving DK opportunities for numbers advantage. Ultimately, Xu pierced through Da Chao's shoe soles with his head, and along with teammates, cleanly swept GEN.

Since the start of the second split, GEN has only played 4 matches, and Da Chao has already agreed in two of them. It seems this LCK's internal war illusion team's dominance has declined this year. The most stable pillar in the team, Ruler, has been offline since his tax evasion operation was exposed, probably fined a lot while paying back taxes, affecting his mentality. And his tax evasion incident recently reached its final outcome.

A post on Korean forums revealed that South Korea's military service rules were modified due to the Ruler incident, forcing a certain professional player to temporarily retire. Before the Ruler incident, LCK players eligible for military service exemption could work part-time and compete during community service periods. But recently this benefit was canceled; even players with exemption eligibility cannot continue participating in matches on weekends while doing community service.

Ruler's move has harmed all professional players. Originally, players exempt from military service could find jobs and continue competing during service, maintaining their form. Though without salary, at least they could stay with a club and have matches to play. Now, players in such service status directly have no matches to play. Clubs also cannot halt operations while players are serving. Many might lose their jobs because of this.

Regarding Ruler himself, it seems his military service exemption wasn't revoked, as there's no similar news. He already completed his service in the first split. But those afterward have been affected by him. This is like drinking the well water and then sealing the well cover. Probably many will resent him for this. With his own power, helping change the military service rules, Ruler is indeed the first in esports history.

After GEN was crushed by G2, their form has been offline. BFX is the same; they've played 3 matches in the second split and remain 0-3. It seems losing to European teams has significantly impacted LCK. Even after so long, the two pioneer teams haven't adjusted back. It appears Da Chao is indeed different this year, starting to falter within the league.
So, do you think GEN is still the top king?
Welcome to leave comments and discuss!